Automobile bridge plate



Nov. 7, 1967 K. w. BROLING I 3,351,024

AUTOMOBILE BRIDGE PLATE Filed Oct. 23, 1965 '4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 XVEYTUR.

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AUTOMOBILE BRIDGE PLATE Filed Oct. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 [.WEXTOR.

United States Patent 3,351,024 AUTOMOBILE BRIDGE PLATE Keith W. Broling, Homewood, Ill., assignor to Brandon Equipment Company Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 503,065 9 Claims. (Cl. 105-458) This invention relates to a bridge construction for piggyback flat cars having a plurality of vertically extending decks and more particularly relates to an improved bridge construction for the top deck of a piggyback flat car.

Mutliple deck railroad cars, commonly termed piggyback cars have come into common use in the railroad industry for transporting motor vehicles and the like. In loading piggyback flat cars, a series of coupled cars are arranged on a siding and the gaps between the adjacent ends of the cars are bridged by hinged plates commonly called bridge plates. The vehicles are then driven along the decks of the cars to the desired locations and tied down to the decks for transportation. The bridge plates are then moved into generally vertical positions during transit of the vehicles.

In order to provide clearance for overhead obstructions such as bridges and overpasses, the top bridge plate has been hinged intermediate its ends so that it will require no more vertical height than the height of the vehicle supported on the top deck. Due to the size and weight of the bridge plate and the height of the top bridge plate above the ground and the fact that there is very little area at the end of the car to provide a foothold, it has, heretofore, been a diificult and dangerous operation to fold the hinged bridge plate over itself and then move the hinged bridge plate in its upright transit position, and lock the bridge plate in this position. The reverse has been true when lowering the bridge plate to bridge the gap between the cars.

A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a new and improved bridge plate construction for piggyback railway cars in which the bridge plate is arranged with a view toward utmost efficiency and safety in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simplified form of hinged bridge plate particularly adapted for the top deck of a railroad car together with an improved means for raising the bridge plate into its transit position and locking the bridge plate in this position, and then accommodating the bridge plate to be folded back over the car as the vehicles have been unloaded from the car.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel and simple form of linkage and leverage arrangement for raising and lowering a hinged bridge plate and locking the bridge plate in its raised transit position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple and improved bridge plate construction for bridging the multiple decks of piggyback railroad cars in which the adjacent ends of the cars are provided with alternate stub and long bridge plates for cooperation with each other and in which the top long bridge plate is hinged intermediate its ends to provide clearance for the car during transit.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary end view of a piggyback flat car illustrating a bridge plate structure constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the adjacent ends of two piggyback flat cars illustrating certain details of the bridge plate structure shown in FIGURE 1, and diagrammatically showing portions of the second and third decks of the cars;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a stub bridge plate for the first deck, showing certain details of the support means therefor, when in a bridging position;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view of the locking means for the bridge plates;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the hinged bridge plate for the top deck of a car; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary detail view showing certain details of a locking means for the operating lever of the top bridge plate.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 2 of the drawings I have generally shown the adjacent ends of the two flat cars 10 coupled together by a conventional coupling mechanism (not shown). The car 10, as shown in FIGURE 1, has an underframe structure 11 having the usual longitudinally extending continuous sill 12 slidably received in the underframe structure 11 in a conventional manner. The underframe structure 11 includes parallel side channels 13, 13 extending for the length of the car and having longitudinally spaced posts 15, 15 extending vertically along the sides thereof and upwardly therefrom at the ends of said side frame members, and intermediate the ends thereof, and forming supports for a second deck 16 and a vertically spaced top deck 17, supported therebetween in a conventional manner. The decks 16 and 17 are of conventional constructions so the detailed structures thereof need not herein be shown or described further.

The top surface of the underframe structure 11 is floored to form the floor of the car and a first deck 18 of the car. The first and second decks 18 and 16 of adjacent ends of the two cars 10, 10 have alternately arranged hinged stub bridge plates 19 and main bridge plates 21 transversely pivoted thereto and held in the upright position shown on FIGURE 1 during transit of the car with vehicles loaded thereon and folded downwardly to generally horizontal bridging positions, with a main bridge plate 21 overlapping and supported on an adjacent stub bridge plate, to provide spaced bridges for the wheels of a vehicle, supporting the vehicle to be moved along the first and second decks of a train of coupled piggyback cars.

The top or third deck of the car also has a similarly arranged stub bridge plate 22 at one side thereof and a hinged bridge plate 23 at the opposite side thereof, adapted to be folded downwardly and cooperate with similar alternately arranged stub and hinged bridge plates 22 and 23 respectively, hinged downwardly from the adjacent end of the next adjacent coupled car to bridge the gap between the adjacent cars along the third deck thereof.

The stub bridge plate 19 at the first deck 18 is hinged to the top surface of said deck on a transverse hinge pin 25, to move from an upright transit position to a horizontal bridging position and form a continuation of the deck 18. The stub bridge plate 19 is supported in its horizontal load supporting position by downwardly spaced abutment feet 26 formed on the inner or rear end portions of laterally spaced gusset plates 27, depending from the bottom of the stub bridge plate 19 when in its horizontal load supporting position shown in FIGURE 3.

The main bridge plate 21 is hinged to the deck 18 at the opposite side of the deck from the stub bridge plate 19 on a transverse hinge pin 29 and has a projecting end portion 30 extending along the top surface of a stub bridge plate 19, hinged downwardly from the adjacent end of a next adjacent coupled car, and supported on said stub bridge plate to bridge the gap between the cars along one side of the car. The gap along the opposite side of the car is bridged by alternately arranged main bridge plates 21 and stub bridge plates 19. The main bridge plate 21 has a plate 31 extending outwardly therefrom along the top surface of a keeper bar 32 extending outwardly from the undersurface of said bridge plate and beyond the end of the plate 31. The keeper bar 31 registers with a notch 33 of a latch 35, when the bridge plate is in its upright transit position (FIGURE 4).

The latch 35 is shown as being transversely pivoted to the post on the side thereof facing the next adjacent car 10, on a pivot pin 36. The pivot pin 36 is shown in FIGURE 4 as being welded to the body of the latch and as being pivotally mounted on a bracket 37 extending across the post 15 and outwardly or rearwardly therefrom. The rear or inner body portion of the latch 35 may be of a bifurcated formation, to receive the bracket 37 in the space therebetween. The bracket 37 thus supports the latch 35 for limited pivotal movement to accommodate the keeper bar 32 to freely pass into the notch 33, where said notch may be misaligned with respect to said keeper bar, the keeper bar 32 camming the latch to align the notch 33 therewith by engagement with a downwardly facing surface 39 of the latch, forming a continuation of the upper surface of the slot 33. A latch dog 40 is transversely pivoted to an outwardly projecting end portion 41 of the latch 35, on a transverse pivot pin 42. The latch dog 40 extends between opposite side walls 43 of the outwardly projecting end portion 41 of the latch and is biased to the latching position shown in FIGURE 4 by gravity. Downward movement of the latch dog 44 is limited by a relatively fiat hand bar 45, formed integrally with the latch dog 40 and extending beyond opposite sides thereof and beyond opposite sides of the side frame members 43, to retain the latch dog 40 in the latching position shown in FIGURE 4, and to form a hand grip enabling the latch to be released by hand. It is understood that as the keeper bar 32 moves into the notch 33 and engages the latch dog 40 and cams the latch dog into position to open the notch 33, that said latch dog will drop to the locking position shown in FIGURE 4 by gravity, as the keeper bar enters the notch.

The stub bridge plate 19 has a plate 46 extending outwardly from the outer side thereof at the upper or outer end thereof. A keeper bar or rod 47 extends laterally from the outer side of the bridge plate 19 underneath the plate 46 and laterally beyond said plate. The keeper bar 47 is latchingly engaged by a latch 48, like the latch 35, so is not herein shown or described further.

The main bridge plate 21 for the second deck 16 is like the bridge plate 21 for the first deck, and is pivoted thereto by a transverse pivot pin 49. The bridge plate 21 for the second deck is latched into its upright transit position by a latch 50 engaging a keeper bar 52, extending laterally from said bridge plate, in the same manner the bridge plate 21 for the first deck is latched in its transit position.

The stub bridge plate 20 for the second deck has laterally spaced cars 53 depending from its outer end. A brace 55 is transversely pivoted between said ears on a pivot pin 56. The brace 55 extends angularly inwardly of said bridge plate and is slidably guided in a slot 57 formed by laterally spaced plates 58, 58 extending vertically along the post 15. The brace 55 has a transverse guide pin 60 mounted on its lower end and extending beyond the margins of said slot 57 and retaining the lower end of said brace to said slot 57 for slidable movement therealong, during raising and lowering of the stub bridge plate 20. The brace 55 rests on a ledge 61 at the lower end of the slot 57, supporting said brace to hold the stub bridge plate in the horizontal bridging position shown in FIGURE 2.

The stub bridge plate 20 is latched in its upward transit position by means of a latch 63, like the latches 48 and 4 35 having latching engagement with a keeper bar 64 extending laterally from said bridge plate (FIGURE 2).

Referring now in particular to the bridge plates 22 and 23 for the top deck 17, the stub bridge plate 22 is similar in construction to the stub bridge plate 20. As shown in FIGURE 2 the stub bridge plate 22 is hinged to the top deck 17 along the top of the post 15 on a hinge pin 65. The stub bridge plate 22 has laterally spaced cars 66 depending from its outer end having a brace 67 pivoted thereto and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom into a slot 68 formed between spaced plates 69, 69 extending along the end post 15 and facing the outer side of said post. The brace 67 has a head 70 on its outer end retaining said brace to said slot and resting on the horizontal leg of an angle iron 71 defining the lower limit of the slot 69 to brace and support said stub bridge plate 22 in a horizontal bridging position, to form a support for the outer end of the hinged bridge plate 23. A latch 72 on the upper end of the extension 73 of the post 15, serves to latch the stub bridge plate 22 in its upright transit position. The latch 72 is like the latch 63 so need not herein be shown or described further.

The hinged bridge plate 23, as shown in FIGURE 5, includes a body portion 75 having a rear hinge portion having hinge straps 76 interleaving hinged straps 78 secured to the top of the deck 17 and pivoted to the hinge straps 76 as by a hinge pin 77. The hinged bridge plate 23 also has a hinged outer end portion 79 foldable over the body portion 75 when the bridge plate is in its transit position indicated by reference character A in FIGURE 2. Hinge straps 80 extend rearwardly from the hinged portion 79 over the top of the body portion 75 along opposite sides of a hinge strap 81 on the top of the body portion 75, and hinged thereto as by a hinge pin 82. The hinged outer end portion of the bridge plate 23 also has an advance or outer flattened end portion 83 of reduced thickness and extending over a stub bridge plate 22 on a next adjacent car and supported thereon to bridge the gap between the two cars 10, 10.

The hinged bridge plate 23 is braced by a diagonal downwardly and outwardly extending brace 85 transversely pivoted between laterally spaced ears 86 depending from the body portion 75, intermediate the ends thereof. The brace 85 like the brace 6-7 has a widened head 87 at its lower end slidably guided for movement along a slot 89 formed in the post 15 and facing to the outside of said post. The brace '85 rests on the horizontal leg of an angle iron 89 at the lower limits of the slot 88, to support the hinged bridge plate 23 in the bridging position shown in FIGURE 2.

The bridge plate 23 has a rod or bar 90 extending laterally therefrom underneath a plate 91. The bar 90 is welded or otherwise secured to the bottom of the plate 91 and extends outwardly therefrom and has a link 93 pivoted on its outer end. The opposite end of the link 93 is slidably and .pivotally connected to a lever arm 95. The lever arm 95 is pivoted to the post 15 adjacent the upper end thereof, on a transverse pivot pin 96, extending across the post 15 in a recessed portion 97 thereof. The link 93 is pivoted to the lever arm 95 on a transverse pivot pin 99 movable along a slot 100 extending along said lever arm.

The pin 99 is held in position at the bottom of the slot 100 to accommodate the lever arm 95 to lift and lower the bridge plate 23, by a latch arm 101 pivoted to the lever arm 95 on a pivot pin 102 welded or otherwise secured to said lever arm. The latch arm 101 has a camming latching face 103 engaging the .pin 99 to retain said pin from movement along the slot 100' during lifting and lowering of the hinged bridge plate 23. The latch arm 101 also has a hand grip 104 extending along the top or outer side of the lever arm 95, to accommodate the pivoting of the latch 101 by hand, to release the camming latching face 103 from the pivot pin 99.

With the structure just described, when the lever arm 95 is locked to extend along the deck 17 as shown by broken lines in FIGURE 2 said lever arm will hold the folding bridge plate in the upright transit position A shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. As vehicles are unloaded from the can however, it is desirable that the bridge plate be folded downwardly along the deck of the car. This is attained by releasing the latch 1 and accommodating the pivot pin 99 to move along the slot 100 as the bridge plate is folded along the top of the car.

A latch 105 is provided to lock the lever 95 to extend along the third deck 17 of the car. As shown in FIGURES 2 and S, the latch 105 includes a generally upwardly opening U-shaped retainer 106, welded or otherwise secured to the deck 17 and extending upwardly therefrom and opening in alignment with the lever 95, to receive said lever. The U-shaped retainer 106 has an inner plate 107, bent outwardly at right angles at its lower end and forming one leg and a base of the retainer. The plate 107 has a vertical slot (not shown) formed therein, intermediate its ends, to receive a latch dog 109 pivoted on a transverse pivot pin 111 extending across the slotted portion of the plate 107 and welded to the inner side of said plate on opposite sides of the slotted portion thereof. The latch dog 109 has a sloping camming face 112 extending inwardly of the plate 107 into position to be engaged by the lever 95 and carnmed in an open position by the lever 95 as it passes downwardly into the slotted portion of said retainer. Said latch dog 109 has an opposite downwardly facing latching face 113 holding the lever 95 in its horizontal position shown in FIGURES 2 and 5. The latch dog 109 also has a depending arm 115 spaced from the retainer 106 outwardly of the plate 107, and having a pin 116 extending outwardly therefrom. The pin 116 is adapted to be engaged by a latch '117 pivoted to a lug 118, welded or otherwise secured to the outer face of the plate 107 and extending outwardly therefrom. A pivot pin 119 forms a mounting for the latch 117 on the lug 118. The latch 117 may thus lock the latch dog 109 in its latching position in an obvious manner. The depending arm 1.15 has a hand grip 119 at its lower end, beneath the latch 117 and accommodating the latch dog 109 to be moved to its release position by hand upon release of the latch 117.

A stop pin 121 is welded or otherwise secured to the top face of the lug 118 and extends in the path of upward movement of the latch 117 to prevent movement of said latch to a position where it will not drop by gravity.

Thus, as the hand lever 95 is moved into the retainer 105 and the latch 117 is manually released, the hand lever 95 may be moved into said retainer, camming the latch dog 109 about the pivot pin 111. As, however, the hand lever 95 reaches the bottom of the retainer 105, the latch dog 109 will move to its locking position by gravity. The latch 117 may then drop to the position shown in FIG- URE 5 as the latch dog 109 moves to its locked position by gravity, the pin 116 camming the latch 117, to raise the latch to drop onto said pin, as the lever 95 is in its horizontal holding position, extending along the top of the deck 17.

It may be seen from the foregoing that when it is desired to raise the bridge plate 23 from its bridging position shown in FIGURE 2, that the end of the lever 95 may be grasped by hand to pull the plate upwardly to a position where the hinged end 79 will move over the body 75 of said bridge plate by gravity. As the hand lever 95 moves toward the deck 17 into position to be locked to extend along the deck by the lock 95, the bridge plate 23 will be in its upright transit position A indicated by broken lines in FIGURE 2, assuming the lock 101 is in position to lock the pin 91 at the lower end of the lever 95 as shown in FIGURE 2. The remain in its transit position until the car reaches its destination, at which time the lock 105 is released and the hand lever 95 is moved upwardly to move the bridge plate to its horizontal position shown in FIGURE 2 bridge plate will then 6 and accommodate the hinged end 79 thereof to be hinged outwardly into engagement with the stub bridge plate 22 of the next adjacent car.

As the train is unloaded the hand lever may again raise the bridge plate with the lock 109 released from the pin 99, to accommodate the pin 99 to move along the slot 100, as the lever arm is moved into its horizontal position along the deck 17, and accommodate folding of the bridge plate along the deck as the cars are uncoupled, and to be locked in this position by the latch until the car is again brought into use for a vehicle transporting operation.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifiations in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a flat car, a bridge construction on the deck portion of at least one end of the car bridging the gap between the deck portion of a next adjacent coupled fiat car, comprising, i

a bridge plate transversely pivoted to an end of the car on the deck portion thereof for cooperation with a bridge plate extending from the deck portion of the end of a next adjacent coupled car, on one side of the center of the car,

said bridge plate being foldable over itself when not in use,

a lever transversely pivoted to the deck of the car for moving said bridge plate into its inoperative transit position and into its horizontally extending bridging position,

a link slidably connected with said lever and connected to said bridge plate intermediate the ends thereof,

releasable means for locking the link from slidable movement along the lever and releasable to accommodate movement of the link along the lever and folding of the bridge plate over the deck,

and locking means on the deck of the car locking said bridge plate to the deck of the car and holding the folded bridge plate in an upright transit position.

2. A bridge plate constructed in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the lever has a slot extending therealong,

wherein the link has a pivot pin thereon movable along the slot in the lever,

wherein a lock is positionable to have camming engagement with said pivot pin and clamp said pivot pin to said link and is movable into position to release said pivot pin for slidable movement along said slot to accommodate folding of said bridge plate over the deck of the car. 3. In a flat car having a plurality of vertically spaced decks for transporting automotive vehicles and the like, a bridge construction for at least the top deck of the car on at least one end of the car, for bridging the gap between the top deck of the car and the top deck of a next adjacent car comprising,

a bridge plate hinged intermediate its ends to accommodate the free end of the plate to be folded over the top thereof,

a hinge pin transversely pivoting said bridge plate to the end of the car to extend beyond the end thereof,

an operative connection with said bridge plate for raising said bridge plate about. said hinge pin, into position to accommodate the free end of said bridge plate to fold over said plate and hold said bridge plate in a raise-d, folded transit position, comprising a lever transversely pivoted to the end of the car, a slot extending along said lever, a link pivoted at one end to said bridge plate,

a pivot pin at the opposite end of said link guided for slidable movement along said slot,

a lock locking said pivot pin adjacent the lower end of said lever, to accommodate said lever to hold said bridge plate in an upright transit position,

and locking means on the deck of the car locking said lever to extend along the deck of the car.

4. In a fiat car having a plurality of vertically spaced posts extending upwardly from a first deck of the car along the ends and sides thereof,

a plurality of decks supported on said posts in vertically spaced relation with respect to said first deck,

a bridge construction for the top deck of the car on at least one end of the car comprising,

a stub bridge plate transversely pivoted to the top deck of the car on one side thereof, a hinged bridge plate transversely pivoted to the top deck of the car on the opposite side thereof, said stub and hinged bridge plates cooperating with alternately arranged stub and hinged bridge plates on the adjacent end of a coupled car to bridge the gap between the top decks of the two cars and support a vehicle to pass thereover, bracing means connected between one post and the stub bridge plate, for supporting the stub bridge plate to extend horizontally from the end of the car, other means supporting said bridge plate in an upright transit position, the hinged bridge plate comprising,

a body portion transversely pivoted to the deck of the car, a hinged portion transversely pivoted to said body portion for folding movement thereover, a brace connected between the hinged bridge plate, and an adjacent post for slidable movement along said post and for bracing said bridge plate in a horizontally extending bridging position, and a hand lever moving said hinged bridge plate upwardly into a transit position with the hinged end thereof hinged over the body of said hinged bridge plate, and locking the hinged bridge plate in an upright transit position. 5. A hinged bridge plate construction in accordance with claim 4,

wherein a link is pivotally connected to the body portion of the hinged bridge plate intermediate the ends thereof and has slidable connection with said lever,

wherein a locking means is provided to prevent slidable movement of said link along said lever,

wherein a lock is provided to lock said lever to extend horizontally along the deck of the car and lock said bridge plate in a generally upright transit position, and wherein said first lock is releasable to accommodate movement of said link along said lever and the folding of said bridge plate along the deck of the car.

6. In a flat car having a plurality of posts spaced at opposite ends of the car and intermediate the ends of the car and extending vertically above a first deck of the car and having a plurality of vertically spaced vehicle transporting decks mounted therebetween, a bridge construction for the top deck of the car on at least one end of the car comprising,

a stub bridge plate transversely pivoted to the top deck of the car at one side of the centerline thereof,

a hinged bridge plate having a body portion transversely pivoted to the top deck of the car to the opposite side of the centerline thereof and having a hinged 8 end portion hinged thereto body portion,

said stub and hinged bridge plates cooperating with alternately arranged stub and hinged bridge plates on the adjacent end of a coupled car, to bridge the gap therebetween and support a vehicle to pass from one car to the other,

a brace pivotally connected to the outer end of said stub bridge plate,

a slidable guiding connection between said brace and posts,

means limiting movement of said brace downwardly along said post into position to support said stub bridge plate in a horizontal bridging position,

a brace hinged to said body portion of said hinged bridge plate intermediate the ends thereof,

a slidable guiding connection between said brace and post limiting downward movement of said brace along said post into position to support said hinged bridge plate into a horizontal bridging position in cooperation with said stub bridge plate,

a lever transversely pivoted to the top deck of the car adjacent the hinged connection of said hinged bridge plate thereto,

a link transversely pivoted to said body portion of said hinged bridge plate at one end, and with said lever at its opposite end, to effect movement of said hinged bridge plate into an upright folded transit position upon movement of said lever downwardly along the deck of the car,

and a lock positively locking said lever along the deck of the car and holding said hinged bridge plate in an upright transit position.

7. A bridge plate construction in accordance with claim 6,

wherein the link has slidable pivotal connection with said lever,

and wherein a locking means is provided to lock said link from slidable movement along said lever and to release said link to move along said lever and accommodate the folding of said bridge plate over the deck of the car.

8. In a bridge plate construction for bridging the gap between the adjacent ends of the decks of two coupled piggyback flat cars, including alternately arranged hinged and stub bridge plates hinged to the decks of the two cars on opposite sides of the center thereof for downward movement into horizontal bridging positions with the ends of the hinged bridge plates supported on the ends of the stub bridge plates,

means bracing the stub bridge plates to the car to extend in horizontal vehicle supporting positions and accommodating movement of said stub bridge plates into upright transit positions,

other means bracing the hinged bridge plates into horizontal vehicle supporting positions and accommodating vertical movement of said bridge plates into upright transit positions,

the hinged bridge plate comprising,

a body portion transversely pivoted to the deck of the car and having a hinged end portion hinged thereto and supported on the stub bridge plate when the bridge plates are in their bridging positions,

link and lever means for raising said hinged bridge bridge plate into its upright transit position,

and locking means for said lever means locking said lever means to extend along the deck of the car and lock said hinged bridge plate into an upright transit position.

9. A bridge plate construction in accordance with claim 8,

wherein the lever means has a slot extending therealong,

for folding over said wherein the link means is slidably movable along said slot when folding the bridge plate downwardly along the deck of the car,

and wherein a lock is provided on said link means locking said link from movement along said slot and cooperating with said first mentioned locking means to lock said bridge plate in its upright transit position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Tyrrell 105-458 Tatum 105-458 Tracy 296-61 X Wood 29657 Clejan 105-368 X Ambli 147l Thompson 105--458 Black 105-458 Boone et a1 105-458 10 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner. 

1. IN A FLAT CAR, BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION ON THE DECK PORTION OF AT LEAST ONE END OF THE CAR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE DECK PORTION OF A NEXT ADJACENT COUPLED FLAT CAR, COMPRISING, A BRIDGE PLATE TRANSVERSELY PIVOTED TO AN END OF THE CAR ON THE DECK PORTION THEREOF FOR COOPERATION WITH A BRIDGE PLATE EXTENDING FROM THE DECK PORTION OF THE END OF A NEXT ADJACENT COUPLED CAR, ON ONE SIDE OF THE CENTER OF THE CAR, SAID BRIDGE PLATE BEING FOLDABLE OVER ITSELF WHEN NOT IN USE, A LEVER TRANSVERSELY PIVOTED TO THE DECK OF THE CAR FOR MOVING SAID BRIDGE PLATE INTO ITS INOPERATIVE TRANSIT POSITION AND INTO ITS HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BRIDGING POSITION, A LINK SLIDABLY CONNECTED WITH SAID LEVER AND CONNECTED TO SAID BRIDGE PLATE INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, RELEASABLE MEANS FOR LOCKING THE LINK FROM SLIDABLE MOVEMENT ALONG THE LEVER AND RELEASABLE TO ACCOMMODATE MOVEMENT OF THE LINK ALONG THE LEVER AND FOLDING OF THE BRIDGE PLATE OVER THE DECK, AND LOCKING MEANS ON THE DECK OF THE CAR LOCKING SAID BRIDGE PLATE TO THE DECK OF THE CAR AND HOLDING THE FOLDED BRIDGE PLATE IN AN UPRIGHT TRANSIT POSITION. 